Keep cool on Saturday with some tailgate favorites (with recipes)

With the kickoff of football season comes a new reason to host a party at your home and no good football party would be complete without some chicken wings. (VICTOR CALHOUN/Press-Register)

MOBILE, Alabama -- The arrival of Labor Day in these parts can mean only one thing, and it’s not the end of summer.

While the nation’s annual paean to the working folk means a three-day weekend and the final heave-ho of summer, it also signals the beginning of something else, something else much more important.

After three long months of yard work, chores and other unimportant stuff, the sixth day of the week is once again centered on something that truly matters — football. Break out the chafing dishes and unpack the fondue pot, it’s time for a football party.

Right now every team is undefeated, every squad, regardless of poll standings, has an equal shot at a championship season. The same goes for your home tailgating experience so make the most of your kickoff party.

First off, these early season football-watching parties can be tough to plan a menu around. It’s still way hot outside rendering many of the traditional late season game day entrees — chili, soup, ratatouille and other more hearty fare — just about useless.

Lighter fare is the norm and that means lots of chips, dips and crudities are all that’s required for a good party. But lighter doesn’t have to mean less filling.

And one fact about hosting a football-watching party remains unchanged and that is, regardless of the time of year, the need for food and lots of it. Here are a few recipes that will feed a host of hungry partisans without breaking the bank.

This is an excellent recipe that is a great way to show off Alabama shrimp to any out-of-state visitors who maybe in town for the big game. Serve it with toothpicks or, better still, with pretzel sticks.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over shrimp. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Shake or stir the container occasionally.

Serve cold.

Note: I like to spice the shrimp heavily with commercial crab boil during the boiling process. A bag of the dry boil will work nicely.

Bring water and seasoning to a boil, add shrimp and when they begin to float, turn off heat and cover. Let them sit in the water, covered, for a few minutes, drain and peel.

Nobody wants to heat up the whole house prior to kickoff. That’s why these early September games afford us to a chance to become acquainted with the slow-cooker.

This recipe is from “Slow and Easy: Fast-fix recipes for you electric slow cooker” by Natalie Haughton.

She recommends using either black beans or pinto beans because the more delicate cannellini beans won’t hold to the long cooking time. And she also suggests that you serve with a basket of tortilla chips.

Cover and cook on high for about 1½ hours or on low for about 3 hours, until hot throughout.

Stir in the cheese chunks. Turn off the slow cooker, remove the insert and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Stir again and serve.

OK, regardless of the time of year it wouldn’t be a tailgate party without some spicy buffalo-style chicken wings. And since everybody knows by now the history and origin of these tasty little treats I won’t bore you with the facts one more time.

But I will, however, offer you a new and different take on how to make them something special. Brining, we all know, is not new; in fact it’s quite old and an established method of improving the flavor of meats prior to cooking.

A simple brine of sugar and salt is all that’s needed. Combine ¾ cup kosher salt with ¾ cup dark brown sugar in a gallon Ziploc bag and stir to dissolve.

Add about 24 chicken wing pieces (drumettes and flat parts) and press out as much air as you can. Refrigerate between 30 minutes to an hour.

When you’re ready to cook the wings, remove wing pieces from brine and rinse under cold water. Dry off with paper towels and season liberally with Tony’s Creole seasoning.

Then you can bake them or grill them.

To bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place wings on sheet in a single layer. Cook for about 60 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

To grill, preheat grill to medium-high heat. Cook wings in a single layer turning once or twice until cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Then, I like to douse them with a mixture of Frank’s Hot Sauce and butter before serving. For a nice twang I like to use three parts hot sauce to two parts melted butter; if you want them milder, use less hot sauce.